Cinque Terre and Spluga Pass

As I mentioned last week, things are winding down. Gene has been promising to do a posting for at least a week. Perhaps I can shame him into finally getting it done. He usually writes when he gets angry about something but things have been pretty peaceful so he is lacking inspiration. So don't hold your breath waiting for his input, although he does get angry when the gelato person does not fill his cup to his specifications.

Pat and Leanne arrived last Tuesday and stayed overnight. We had a great dinner at Sottovento in Lierna and walked into Bellano and environs Wednesday morning, 4 miles in all. They left for the Cinque Terre late Wednesday afternoon. We decided to join them and the Browners on Friday to hike between some of the 5 villages. It was a 300K drive which took about 3 hours. We met everyone at the train station in La Spezia and took the train to Riomaggiore. We then did the first walk to Manarola. We continued on to Corniglia, a longer walk of about 45 minutes. Along the way Leanne got a splinter in her finger from the wooden fence and I was able to pull out my new Swiss Army Knife(purchased in Zermatt) and help with minor surgery on the path. When you arrive in Corniglia there are 400 steps up to the village. It's not a bad climb though as the steps are easy to walk on. It's just long. After much debate we decided to take the train to Vernassa after lunch. We finished lunch, checked the schedule for the next train which was in about 11 minutes and decided we could make it. We ran down the 400 steps and the street to the train. I barely made the train. I had been nursing a gimpy left knee for the last 2 weeks or so. All the steps we had been taking in Bellano and the hill towns were taking a toll on my poor knee. I was fine the rest of that day. We walked around Vernassa, had a gelato and decided we were ready for the 300K ride home. We took the train back to La Spezia, found our car and headed home. Gene and I both retired early that night. The next morning I could barely walk on my left knee. It was quite swollen and very sore. Linda, who is a personal trainer, arrived that day and told me it would help to get in the pool and get it moving, so that is what I have been doing. I'm moving somewhat better now but it is still painful and I think my hiking is over for this trip. Luckily we leave Italy on Tuesday.

On Monday Gene and Linda(I stayed behind) drove the Spluga Pass between Italy and Switzerland and also visited Chiavenna. They did some hiking but mostly just enjoyed the drive. Gene loves twisty mountain roads and is always looking for a new one to explore. When Gene does his post he will include his favorite photos from the Spluga Pass excursion.

Linda is heading for Mallorca on Thursday morning and Gene and I will be getting ready for our departure from Villa Wally on Saturday morning. We are then driving to Radda in Chianti for 2 nights and then back to Milano to catch our flight home on Tuesday AM.